[ COMPLETED ]
BOOK 2 of the ORPHIC series
MONACHOPSIS
/ˈmənˌāˌkōpˌsis/
the subtle but persistent feeling of being out of place.
~~~~~
Lucille "Lucy" Opal Baker might be the unluckiest person...
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"Fighting is all I ever knew. It's all I ever know."
???, Pacific Ocean April, 2012
VERFALL HELD UP HER RUBIK'S cube, the object looking as perfect as it first looked when Dr. Schaffer first gave it to her ten minutes ago. She'd solved it over fifteen times, the holographs glittering as she did so. Dr. Schaffer took it and started coding another cube, one looking far more complicated. Verfall watched him work until he noticed. Her eyes dropped nervously. Dr. Schaffer gently nudged her in the side and she looked up again. He waved his screen over so she could get a better look at it.
"Here, like this." Dr. Schaffer ordered softly, handing her a small square. "These are the patterns."
Her eyes flicked over his coding in an instant, memorizing everything as quickly as possible. She let Dr. Schaffer scroll through them until she nodded at him. He tilted his head, raising an eyebrow at her boldness. She drew inward, shoulders lifting as she remained still. He flipped through all the code before looking back at her.
"Copy it. Make it more difficult." Dr. Schaffer said.
Verfall nodded jerkily, looking down at the codes, which disappeared at a wave of his hand. She didn't need them anyway. She started typing quickly, creating a Rubik's cube that was double sided and hexagonal. She smiled to herself as the hologram came to life, appearing on the table with beautiful colors.
She looked up at Dr. Schaffer to let him know she was done, and he smiled proudly.
"You're just as intelligent as I remember." He said fondly, before nodding at the cube. "Go ahead."
She brightened and grasped the hexagon, twisting it as she started to solve her own puzzle. It would reset in a minute and a half, so she had to solve it before her time ran out. She moved swiftly, vaguely aware of Dr. Schaffer surveying her. She hummed to herself until she finished solving the hexagon.
A small part of her missed her old mission handler Volya. She wondered if he was okay. He'd given her the first hexagon Rubik's cube she'd ever seen.
Verfall looked up to see Stark standing beside Dr. Schaffer, looking at the cube in her hand with an impressed look. The holograph in her hand disappeared, moving back onto the table easily. She tilted her head at Stark.
"I need your help with something." He said, nodding to the scepter. "Wanna take a look?"
Verfall glanced at Dr. Schaffer for permission and he nodded.
